Since we decided to move back to Africa, I’ve been wondering which school to pick for our daughter once we got there. Through my reflection, I started to consider the possibility of homeschooling. Today I’m sharing with you what I found in my search to find out if homeschooling is even a possibility in Africa.
In this article, I’ll talk about the countries where homeschooling is legal in Africa. I’ll give you some starting points to find out which programs to choose for your little one. And I’ll also touch on some alternatives to homeschooling.
As for what we decided for the girl, we’re still thinking!
Now, let’s dive in!
Is homeschooling legal in Africa?
The short answer is yes. In some parts of Africa anyway.
The long answer is it depends on the country. Homeschooling still seems pretty uncommon throughout the continent.
Homeschooling is legal in South Africa. There, you’ll find some organized communities of homeschooling parents.
Other African countries where home education seems legal (or at least allowed) are:
- Botswana. There was even some debate about the first daughter being homeschooled at some point.
- Uganda. This video shows the day in the life of a homeschooled teen in Uganda.
- Egypt
- Ghana. This Ghanaian mother shares why her family decided to homeschool.
- Kenya. You can read accounts of Kenyan homeschooling parents in the article from Business Daily.
- Namibia. Namibia even has a homeschooling association.
- Nigeria. You can read about the experience of homeschooling in Nigeria here and here.
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
French-speaking African countries are lagging behind. This website has a comprehensive list of laws about homeschooling in the French-speaking world.
Cote d’Ivoire seems to fall in a gray area. Homeschooling is allowed if there are no schools in proximity. There’s even an online school/ homeschooling platform from the Ministere de l’education. It has curriculums available for different grade levels. I have to say I was very surprised to find it!
Pros and cons of homeschooling in Africa
Pros of homeschooling
One of the biggest reasons I considered homeschooling in the first place was because I am worried it will be hard for my daughter to transition to the French system.
Deep down I know she will be fine at a good school. Kids are amazing at adapting. But a tiny part of me says what if? What if the teachers don’t understand her? What if she doesn’t understand them?
Homeschooling her would allow me to nurture her at her own pace.
Other pros homeschooler parents mention are:
- Freedom to pick the curriculum that works best for your child. Maybe that’s leaning more into science. Maybe that’s including more African history in your curriculum. Maybe that’s including a spiritual aspect to what you teach your child. The choices seem endless!
- Providing quality education if you are not happy with the local school system.
- Flexibility to design a schedule that works for you and your child. For example, you can include more hands-on learning.
- Spending more time with your child. Getting to know them in a different way, how they learn. Seeing them grow in front of your eyes.
Cons of homeschooling
Of course, there’s always another side to the story. For instance, homeschooling comes with a cost. Literally.
- Homeschooling can be expensive. Between the supplies, the subscriptions, the field trips, the books, you can end up spending quite a bit.
- Homeschooling can be time consuming. You can spend a lot of time preparing the curriculum. This means less time working on your own. It can also means less time for yourself.
- It can be isolating for you and your child.
- You may get bored. It takes commitment to show up every day as your child teacher.
What programs can you use for homeschooling in Africa?
That’s the million dollar question my friends!
You have as many options as you have tastes. There are curriculums that are:
- Secular or faith-based curriculums.
- Science-based.
- Literature-based.
- Montessori homeschool curriculums.
- Play-based curriculums.
- And many more!
To get you started
To give you a starting point, this website has a helpful list of curriculums (in English). They’re classified by content:
- Secular or faith-based,
- Online or with workbooks.
Just keep in mind that the website participates in the affiliate programs of some of the programs in their list.
So this is a starting point, but you still have to do your own research. The same website has reviews of different programs. They also have many other resources available for homeschooling parents.
If you have a little one (I’m talking preschool), you can also use free resources like Khan Academy Kids, Duo ABC or ABC mouse.
An Afro-centric curriculum for homeschooling in Africa
If you want to offer a more afro-centric curriculum to your little ones, you also have multiple options. Here are just a few:
- The National Black Home Educators association has plenty of resources.
- Kamali Academy
- Sankofa Science solutions. A program that offers opportunities for labs and in-the-field learning.
- Exploring Africa. A curriculum developed by the African Studies Center of Michigan State University.
- Fawohodie Sua. An organization that offers an African-centered curriculum through co-op classes. Co-op classes are classes that provide classroom-based education with hands-on experience. This organization teaches several of their classes from Ghana. It exposes students to live experiences such as visiting a Ghanaian farm or exploring a market place.
- Black classical academy. A company that provides culturally affirming resources to supplement K-12 education. They offer flash cards, history workbooks and preschool workbooks. The emphasis is on Black history rather than specifically African history.
- The blog Intuitive Homeschooler from homeschool mindset coach Cami K. also has a list of African-centered curriculums.
You can find plenty of resources (Afro-centric or not) to buy on the website Teachers Pay Teachers.
The black homeschool family website also has lots of resources and blog posts about homeschooling to get you started.
On the African continent, several companies offer the services of private homeschool teachers.
Not sure about homeschooling? Distance learning can be an alternative
The line between online schooling and homeschooling can be blurry. They both can happen online. They both offer more flexibility — curriculum and schedule — than traditional schooling.
Pros of online learning
One of the pros of online learning is that once you choose a school, the curriculum is already set for your child. It removes the time-consuming task of having to come up with everything.
Virtual schools may also offer more options for your child to socialize with other children attending the same school.
Your kid is graded when attending a virtual school. And, it may be easier for them to apply to college. Although more and more colleges accept homeschooled applicants without difficulty.
There’s one main advantage I can see for African repats. Registering your child to a virtual school allows you to meet the requirements of your country if homeschooling is illegal there. And your child can still learn from home.
Cons of online learning
- It may offer less flexibility than homeschool.
- Your child may be required to spend an ungodly amount of hours in front of the screen.
- Your kids most likely will have homework (this I guess can be a pro or con depending on how you feel about homework! Definitely a con for me.)
Here again there are as many programs as there are tastes! This blog post from the blog Online School Mom gives a great list of questions to ask when you’re looking for an online school for your child.
If you want your child to have a French education, look for the CNED (Centre National d’Education a Distance). It’s the distance learning organization from the French Ministere de l’education. It offers several curriculums from Kindergarten to high school and beyond.
This is all I have for you today friends!
I hope you find this article to be a good resource if you’re considering homeschooling in Africa!
If you do, please let me know what are your plans by emailing me at backtotheotherland@gmail.com or sending me a DM on IG, at Backtotheotherland.
See you next time!
Photo by Katerina Holmes:
